DNAvians
by fallingpetals6
Summary: Fang is about 6 years old. After an argument with Iggy, Fang takes to the sky…well the encased play area at School. Flying around thinking, he meets a girl named Max. Fang feels connected to her; even though this is the first time they’ve met. But why?
1. Chapter 1: Pretend

**_Hi everyone, I really hope you like this story. It takes place when Fang is 6 years old. Heh, I love Fang! I hope you feel like this actually could have taken place in the past . Please review, be gentle :(_**

**Description:** We go about eight years into the past. Fang is about six years old. After an argument with his buddy Iggy, Fang takes to the sky…well the encased play area at School. Flying around, thinking about his imprisonment and a red-haired girl from his past, he meets a pretty girl. She's strong, stubborn, and not afraid to kick him around. Her name is Max. But there's something strange about Max. Fang feels connected to her; even though this is the first time they've met. The tiny blond streaks in her hair and the dark spots in her wings irk Fang. Why are they so familiar? Why does Max seem to change and get stronger after every session with the white lab coat people? Can little Fang ever be free? MF story, hope you like it!

**_- KATHY :)_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters. The plot was made from my imagination and I apologize if my idea is in anyway similar to another story. I assure you that it was unintentional._**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 1: Pretend**

"Fang, you're kidding me! You're already six years old and you've never had a crush?" laughed Iggy picking up a blue Lego.

Fang stared down at the ground, his dark locks of hair getting into his dark, innocent eyes, "Yeah what's it to ya, Ig!"

"C'mon buddy, I'm a little younger than you and even I can't believe it!" laughed the adorable blond toddler. Iggy's pale blue eyes shined with pride.

"Leave me alone!" yelled Fang. He spread his dark, six foot wide wings and fluttered into the sky.

The School had an open area for exercise; of course there was a limit though. Fang pushed his midnight-stained wings higher and higher pushing himself to the top. He touched the glass at the top of the large dome that surrounded the 'open area'. He pressed his forehead to the cool glass and remembered. Almost a year ago, he had been in love, when he was almost five.

**He had crawled out a vent into the open and flew a mile away. He had seen little kids about his own age. They were free and playing happily. They giggled and laughed and hugged and ran. They didn't have wings. But they weren't trapped. He saw one little girl with long curly red, red hair, green eyes, and a face full of freckles. She sat on a swing with her arms spread out, "Push me higher, I wanna fly!"**

**Little five year old Fang had watched her smiling face and he almost smiled himself. Even as the School officers detained him and put a tracker on his wings, he watched the smiling red-headed girl who wanted to fly, until they dragged him away.**

"Hey, fool, get down from there before the grown-ups smash your head in for trying to fly away!" called a strong, young voice from below. Fang looked down and caught sight of a little girl about his age with long brown hair with thin blond streaks in it. The blond streaks in her hair made Fang feel nervous, they reminded him of someone, but he couldn't think of whom. She had her arms crossed as she tapped her foot, "Do I have to drag you down?"

Fang glared at her knowingly, "You can't. Only me and Iggy have wings."

She smirked, "Try me." Wings thrust out from her back. They were large and a nutmeg brown with dark spots speckled across like a falcon's wings. The dark spots seemed out of place, yet they belonged somehow.

Fang tried to recompose his little face but awe managed to escape, "Whoa." She flew up to the top in an instant and thrust her small hand out to him, "How are ya? My name is Max."

"That's a boy's name," Fang commented, regretting it immediately. She glared at him, "So what?" And then threw a punch at him right in the gut.

Down Fang went tumbling onto the squishy green glass below. She dived down from the sky and tackled him wrestling him until he was under her. Fang was no little gentleman he fought hard but she sat on his stomach. Now Fang realized it! The dark spots looked like his wings' color. He spat some dirt out and wiped a smudge off his rosy cheek, and then smiled, "I'm Fang."

Max smirked, "Nice to meet ya, Fang." She like the way his dark eyes sparkled, "Like shiny black marbles."

Fang glanced at her, "What?" Max cheeks turned crayon red, "Nothing." He smiled and reached over to pick a leaf from her hair. He liked that softness and the way she had smirked. He liked when she blushed. Fang smiled, "Maybe we should get up now."

A School officer rushed over, "There you mutants are! Maximum, don't go running off like that!"

"I didn't, I flew," Max said matter-of-factly. Fang grinned. The officer grabbed Max's hand, "Young lady, it is time for testing; I don't think you want us to put you in that cage again, do you? You two," he said pointing to Fang, and Iggy on the other side of the dome "will be tested later."

Max grimaced as she was dragged to do testing. This consisted of multiple physical tests to chart their abilities and limits. Fang felt bad for Max having to go first. Testing hurt a lot because the grown-ups did not let you stop until you collapsed, then they scowled and called you worthless and made you train more. His hand moved on its own. Suddenly, Max's hand was in his, "I go too."

The officer looked at Fang, "Little brats…okay whatever. You're next anyway…" Fang gave Max a reassuring glance and patted her hand. Max didn't say anything, but Fang felt her squeeze his hand.

When they arrived in the lab, Fang was told to sit in the corner. He noticed that Max and a little girl, younger than them, with dark skin and wild hair were both brought into the lab. Fang tried to read the sign on the door, but the white-coated people had not taught him how to read too well. He managed anyway.

"D-N-A," Fang read but still didn't understand. He moved to the next word, "Mod-i-fi-ca-ti-on?"

Fang squinted in frustration, "DNA Mod-die-fy-cah-shun?" He slammed his fist against the floor. How was he supposed to know what that meant? He was six!

"Stupid loser white coats," he said giving a hard glare at a passing lab worker. The lab worker kept a calm face, but shifted away from Fang's cold gaze. When the worker left, Fang chuckled. These grown-ups were actually afraid of him!

The door Fang had tried to read swung open. Max walked out with her arms crossed and a grim look on her face. She slapped away a white-coated man's hand. He looked hurt, "Max, sweetheart, they have to do this for your own good."

"I don't wanna go in that room anymore, Jeb, they give me this icky stuff that makes me fall asleep and then when I wake up I feel all weird," she glared at the door then turned to Fang.

"Fang, let's go play!" She said happily. Fang made her feel safe for some reason. Max never showed it, but a lot of the time, she was afraid.

Fang gave Max a sad smile, "I gotta go into the testing room now. I have to get shots and stuff too today."

Max's grin vanished. She said nothing but walked away. Fang felt like going after her, but what would happen this time if he ran away again from testing?

The little girl with wild hair staggered out of the room Max had come from. Her dark skin seemed paler and her brown lively eyes had lost some of their luster. Fang couldn't help but notice that when he looked at Max before, her eyes had some more brown in them. The same brown as the little girl's.

"Are you okay?" Fang asked the wild hair girl, and immediately regretted it. She burst out, "No! I am sooo tired right now! I feel like extremely weak and my hair is all dry and my knees are wobbly and my skin is all gross and my eyes have that icky crusty stuff around them and I feel like I'm talking slower for some reason. Oh and hi, I'm Nudge." Fang's eyes widened. For a three year-old, Nudge seemed to talk an awful lot. His head was a little dizzy from listening.

"Okay, nice to meet you Nudge, I'm Fang," He patted her head and smiled. Another white coated person walked into the room, "Avian-human number two, let's go." They brought Fang into the testing room next to the room Max and Nudge had been in.

"Let's test your speed first, Experiment," a white coated worker said. Fang growled, "My name is Fang."

The white coat laughed. They weren't afraid of Fang when they were safe behind a glass wall. Fang growled again but released his wings. His dark wings spread out and he wiggled them until he was ready to fly.

He took a breath in and took off. He pushed himself faster and faster. Fang almost grinned with delight at the wind rushing on his face. He felt the power pulse through his wings and the freedom that came with flying. He put his arms out in front of him like Superman and closed his eyes. He pretended he was outside in the sky flying around. He pretended he fit there. He pretended the world wanted him there. He pretended he belonged. He imagined Max and Iggy and maybe even Nudge flying with him. He pretended he was free. But when Fang opened his eyes to see the white walls coming closer and closer, he remembered that that's all it was. Pretend.

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**_Okay, more chapters to come, thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think!! I hope you everyone likes it so far! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2: Safe In Your Arms

**Hi everyone! Thanks to the people who have reviewed so far! Please review more, it really helps! And i hope the white coats seem meaner now, culacula! :) and I agree, FourNations93, Iggy should have gotten more legos! :) Anyway, hope more people read and enjoy! Please review!**

**I feel bad for Fang in this chapter :( I'm sorry I had you beaten up, Fang! But at least Max comforts you!**

**KATHY :)**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 2: Safe In Your Arms**

"Worthless mutant, are you taking this seriously?" spat a chubby white coat. "You are only flying at 95 miles per hour! You've hardly improved! Maximum is flying at 100 miles per hour!"

Fang snorted, "Let's see you try, Santa!" A skinnier white coat with a toupee rubbed his temples, "You need to be taught a lesson, mutant. You are our property! You must obey us!"

Fang smirked, "Yeah, how's that working out for ya?" 'Santa' glared at Fang, "Insolent child, take him to the Re-setting Station (R.S.)!"

Fang recognized one of the white coats. He was the one who had called Max 'sweetheart'. "But he's just a child," Jeb stated shocked.

Toupee man sneered, "Well it wouldn't be Mutant Two's first time in R.S. would it?"

Fang smiled an innocent smile, eyes sparkling darkly, "I like to be consistent." Jeb smiled sadly back at the little boy.

'Santa' scoffed, "No wonder you're mother gave you up!" Fang balled up his fists but stayed silent. He didn't know if it was true or not.

Toupee man smiled, "Good, you need to learn to be cooperative." Fang snickered, "Yes, that'll happen when you get a girlfriend! Whoops, looks like that possibility up and left with your hair!" Fang couldn't believe how much he was talking, but he liked making fun of the white coats.

Two burly men burst into the room. They grabbed the six year-old roughly. Fang bit one of the men. Hard.

Fang's dark eyes shone as the man winced in pain. Fang took off into the air, kicking the other man in the eye.

"You numbskulls, he's six years old! GET HIM!"

Fang smirked, "Hey give 'em some credit, I'm a pretty feisty six year old!" His smile vanished as the man he bit came barreling toward him.

Fang shifted quickly out of the way, "Come on Big Guy, you can do better than that!" He laughed watching them jump up and down trying to grab his ankles.

He swooped down, grazing their fingertips. He made a quick U-turn and grabbed the toupee of the skinny man who had come out to help. Fang's tiny hands dangled the animal-like hair in front of the man's face, "Look what I caught!"

The man turned red with anger, "That is it!"

A net was released suddenly, crushing Fang under the hard ropes. His tiny hands gripped the net angrily as he was dragged away.

--

Max walked over to Fang's blond friend, "Hey you, did Fang come back yet?" Despite just meeting Fang today, Max felt worried about him.

Iggy turned toward Max and grinned mischievously, "Do I know you?" His pale eyebrows lifted in question.

"Nope, where's Fang?" Max asked impatiently.

Iggy grinned, "Hi I'm Iggy, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Max, where's Fang?" Max tapped her foot. This pretty boy knew how to get under her skin.

"It's nice to meet you Max. How are you doing today?" Iggy asked, blinking his big blue eyes innocently.

Max glared, trying to burn a hole in his mocking grin. Iggy smiled, "Okay, what can I do for Fang's first girlfriend?"

"I am not his girlfriend! But have you seen Fang? Did he come back from the lab?" Max asked as worry slipped into her eyes.

Iggy shrugged, "I haven't seen Fang since he ran off to the lab with you."

"He's at the Re-setting Station," said a voice from behind. Max and Iggy turned to face a wild haired little girl.

"Hey you're from the room I was in," said Max.

"Yup, my name's Nudge. I think it's a pretty cool name, but this kid I talked to earlier said it was stupid so I kicked him and told him that his name was stupid 'cause it kinda was, I mean what kinda name is Bernard. I mean Nudge is such a cooler name than Bernard. Bernard is like a doggie's name, ruff, and ruff! I mean seriously! Do you get it?" Nudge asked looking at Max and Iggy for an answer.

Iggy raised one of his eyebrows, "What are you, three? How can you possibly talk that much?"

Nudge ignored him, "Anyway, yeah, Fang is in Re-setting Station." Max looked disturbed, "They beat people in there…"

Iggy laughed bitterly, "Well, it wouldn't be Fang's first time in there." Max shook her head, "But still, Fang maybe tough, but if the grown-ups get really mad, believe me, you don't want to be in there." Max shivered, thinking of her past experience at four years-old. They had only stopped when Jeb interfered.

Iggy sighed, "Knowing Fang, he'll get them pretty mad."

"I'll go see if Jeb will help me," Max said running off. _I hope you're okay Fang!_

--

Fang was thrown onto the floor with his hands tied together. His legs were then chained to the floor. His wings were strapped to his back, uncomfortably. A white coat Fang didn't recognize came over with a high-tech whip. The hard material of the whip was intertwined with strands of electric wiring that shocked and burned at the touch of it.

"I hate to beat such a marvelous experiment, but I they say you've become un-obedient," the white coat said lifting the whip.

CRAA-CK! Fang gritted his teeth as he felt his skin tear and burn. Wet, red blood trickled to the floor. The white coat lifted the whip to strike that six year-old once again.

Fang closed his eyes and went into himself. He refused to scream. CRAA-CK! He refused to cry. He refused to feel. White pain flashed in his sight as the man took three strikes quickly in a row. _STOP!_ Fang cried in his head silently. **Pain is normal Fang, accept it.** The man continued to strike Fang over and over sending him into reeling, intolerable pain. _No! Stop! Please! I'm begging you!_ **Be silent! They cannot know you are in pain! **_But I am in pain. _Blood soaked through Fang's black shirt. Long red gashes opened up scars that were already there. _It hurts! It burns! I'm gonna die, go God! I still haven't tried Cracker Jacks or swung on a swing or, or_ CRAA-CK! CRAA-CK! **Shut up weakling! Take it like a big boy. **_But I'm not! I six years-old! I'll scream if I want to!!_ **SHUT UP!! **_AHHH!! _**SHUT UP!! **_AHHHHHHH!!_

"Fang?" A worried voice called to Fang, ripping him from the battle with himself. A half an hour had passed and the man had stopped whipping Fang. The pain didn't stop though. The blood continued to flow from his wounds.

Fang struggled to keep conscious, "Maxy?" He felt the chains drop off his ankles, hands, and wings. He was free. And fricking exhausted. _Did I just call Max, Maxy?_

Max pressed her hand against Fang's warm cheek. His tired eyes were closed but a smile played at his lips as Max held him close. "It's okay now Fang, you'll be okay. You're with me now," Max whispered in Fang's ear.

He put his arms around her and she held on tighter, ignoring the blood soaking her sleeves. "It's okay Fang, you're safe now," Max's tiny voice whispered. And he actually felt it. The feeling of 'safe'.

**Thanks for reading! Please review and await the next chapter! :) hope you liked it and continue to read! I'll post more when I write it :) Thank you!**

**KATHY**


	3. Chapter 3: Anything Is Possible

**_Heh, hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you all like my story, it makes me worried that I might write something the you guys don't like :( But you seem to all enjoy it so far :)  
FourNations93 review made me laugh.  
_****_  
Kathy: I'M SORRY I BEAT YOU UP FANG!  
Fang: ...it's okay...  
_****_  
Yes, I will eventually fast foward to when Fang and Max are eight so Angel does come in as a baby. And Gazzy is introduced in THIS chapter :)_**

**_Thanks to everyone who favorited my story! Please continue to read and review my story! All your reviews make me smile _**

**_The following chapter isn't as dramatic as the previous two, but i hope you guys enjoy the relaxed tone...for now...muwahaha, should Fang get beat up more? _**

**_Fang: grrr...  
Kathy: heh, just kidding! But hey! You get Max to comfort you!  
Fang: ...'kay...blushes_**

**_P.S. thanks for the tip about the mispelled word, EvaNoName! :) that could have been embarrassing!_**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 3: Anything Is Possible**

Fang watched Max as she searched around for a first aid kit. He was still a little dizzy from the blood lost and lack of food, but his wounds had started to heal. _Go mutant blood!_

"Aha! Found you, ya little sucker," Max said proudly as she pulled out a kit from Jeb's drawer. They were currently in Jeb's tiny office by the lab.

"Okay Fang, take off your shirt," Max said bluntly, holding a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.

Fang grinned, "Aren't you embarrassed to see my amazing muscles out in the open?" Max rolled her eyes and pulled off Fang's shirt herself, "Sorry, but your 'amazing muscles seem to have disappeared, _Fangy_."

Fang frowned, "Are you gonna let that go any time soon?" Max didn't answer but she grinned. She gently cleaned Fang's deep gashes, glancing up at him every so often to make sure he wasn't in too much pain.

"Ow," Fang said lamely. "Once you get whipped with electric wiring, nothing else seems to hurt."

"Tell me about it!" Max lifted the back of her shirt a bit.

Like a pattern, long white scars ran across Max's back. Scar after scar was repeated and crossed with another. The start of her brown wings was also scarred a little.

Fang reached out to touch one particularly long scar, but decided against it. Why did the white coats need them to be so perfect all the time? They were just little kids.

Max wrapped up Fang's back with thick, white bandages. She carefully arranged them around Fang's wings, and then vigilantly patched up his wings too.

"Thank you, Nurse Max," Fang said patting her on the head and smiling. Max glared, ignoring way her heart sped up a little at his smile, "No problem, Fangy dear." But nothing could wipe off Fang's grin.

"Let's go find you a shirt. Maybe Jeb has some in that dresser over there." They opened the small dresser that Jeb kept in his office, but instead of clothes, they found documents.

"Hey Max, this one is about you I think," Fang said pointing to a piece of paper with Max's name on it.

**_CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT:_**

**MAXIMUM RIDE**

**EXPERIMENT: **AVIAN-HUMAN

**STATUS: **SUCCESS

**ALTERATIONS: **INJECTED WITH SEVERAL DNA SAMPLES FROM VARIOUS LESSER AVIAN-HUMAN HYBRIDS. ONLY BEST QUALITIES WERE TRANSFERRED, ALONG WITH SOME PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS (SIDE EFFECT).

**DNA TAKEN FROM:**

**EXPERIMENT #2 "FANG" – **WING STRENGTH COPIED AND TRANSFERRED; Max takes on dark spots on wings which coordinate with the color of "Fang's" wings.

**EXPERIMENT #3 "IGGY" – **SUPERIOR VISION EXTRACTED which in turn caused "Iggy's" vision to be impaired (this will problem will be attempted to fix at a later date, possibly when Experiment #3 turns six years old. Max takes on blond streaks in hair, identical to "Iggy's" hair color and can now see a bit farther than other hybrids.

**EXPERIMENT #4 "NUDGE"** – COMPUTING ABILITIES COPIED AND TRANSFERRED. **Ability FAILED to be transferred but injection of DNA still caused Maximum to take on a brown tint in eye color.**

**FUTURE DNA TRANSFER ATTEMPTS INCLUDE SUBJECTS:**

**Experiment #5 still not named, Avian-Human hybrid, blond with blue eyes, seems to produce an unpleasing odor, usefulness to be determined…**

**Experiment #6 parents of Experiment #5 plan to have another child in about two years. Genetic modification will take place at birth (Avian-Human)**

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"Max? Fang? What are you to doing?" a voice called into the small office. Fang and Max turn with a jump, "Jeb!"

Jeb eyes were wide as he rushed over, "You two shouldn't be looking at this stuff!" He took the papers from them muttering under his breath, "Thank god they don't know how to read all of it."

Max pulled at Jeb's shirt, "What does it say Jeb? Why does it have me and Fang's names on it?"

Jeb sighed, "It's nothing Max, don't worry about it!" But Fang could tell he was hiding something by the way Jeb couldn't look at Max in the eyes.

Jeb smiled, "You two should go eat now." Max looked at Fang and laughed, "But Fang still needs a shirt!"

Jeb laughed to, "Oh, let's go find one then." Fang stopped Jeb, "It's alright. I'll go borrow one from Iggy."

"If you're gonna walk all the way to Iggy, why not just get your own shirt?" Max asked curiously.

"All my shirts are ripped up from all my trips to the Re-setting Station. The one I was wearing was my last one," Fang shrugged.

"Oh," Max said. She hadn't realized that Fang had been beaten so many times. She had been there a lot for mouthing off to grown-ups, but Jeb usually intervened in time so that her punishment wasn't as harsh. She wanted to hug Fang, but instead, just grabbed his hand, "Let's go eat."

As the two walked off hand in hand, Jeb smiled at them from behind, "Maybe they'll be okay. Maybe Max can be free."

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"Fang!" Iggy yelled, "Back from the slammer?" Fang grinned, "Yup, Max saved me."

"Oh, speaking of your girlfriend. She and I had a nice long chat while you were at Re-setting. She kept asking where you were! She wanted to hug you and kiss you and…" Iggy stopped when he received a glare from Max, whom was standing right behind Fang, "Oh, hi Fang's girlfriend!"

"Iggy!" Both Max and Fang yelled at the same time. Iggy smiled, blue eyes sparkling, "But really, I haven't seen Fang this un-gloomy since that time he came back from escaping."

Max looked at Fang, "You've been outside?" Fang nodded, "Kids outside don't have wings, so they can't fly, but they seem real happy."

Max glanced out the tightly sealed window and the titanium walls of the small room they were in, "It's really possible to get of here?"

Iggy laughed, "Anything is possible. You just have to find out how." Fang smiled slightly, "Yeah, like I didn't think it was possible for someone to crash into a wall, but Iggy proved me wrong."

Iggy punched Fang in the shoulder jokingly. Fang looked at Max who stood a little away from them. She was smiling but she looked uncomfortable. Fang took Max's hand and made a silent promise to himself. _Max will always belong, as long as I'm here._

"Hey, you guys are mean! We know each other and you didn't even invite me to eat with you guys! I'm disappointed! I mean we're practically a family! We all have wings and stuff. Oh wait; maybe we're more like a club because technically if Max and Fang are family it would be all weird if they dated. But Max could be my sister! My big sister who has wings but I have wings too so it's okay. And that makes us even more family! Iggy can be my brother, or uncle but Iggy is kind of a weird name. Can I call you Isaac instead? That is such a cool name with the double letter but I guess Iggy has double letters too. Huh, I wish I had double letters in my name! Like Nuddge or something like that. But Nudge with out the double letter it really cool too. It sounds like fudge which is totally tasty. So how are you guys?" Nudge asked smiling, brown eyes wide and sparkling.

Fang and Iggy stared.

Max laughed, "I actually understood that!" Nudge smile grew, "That's totally cool! For some reason no one ever answers me and I wonder why because I actually slow down when I speak to some people and they still look at me with that look Fang and Iggy are giving me right now. It's like they zone out or something and they don't even--"

"Avian-humans," said a white coat walking into the room, "I have someone to introduce to you! It's our newest avian-human hybrid, Experiment Number 5!"

In his arms he held a little baby boy wrapped in a blue blanket. Plump and smiley, his blue eyes looked around the room searching. His thin layer of blond hair was messy and adorned with a cowlick. He seemed to stare at Iggy as he stretched his arms out but the baby pulled his arms back as a bashful smile crossed his face.

"Ewwww!" Nudge yelled. "Holy cow, that baby just let one rip," Iggy said holding his nose.

The white coat looked shocked, "Uhh, good luck with Experiment Number 5!" He laid the baby carefully down on the table in the room and ran out.

The four hybrids walked closer cautiously holding their breath. Fang attempted to breathe first, "Oh god, how can something so small, smell so bad?"

Iggy coughed, "How can something so small, hold that much gas?"

The baby blinked his blue eyes innocently and smiled a toothless smile, "Gas, gas!"

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**_Okay, I hope everyone enjoyed that and I hope it made you smile a little. Still more chapters to come! Please keep reading!_**

**_-KATHY :)_**


	4. Chapter 4: Sleeping Birds

**Thanks again for all the reviews and for reading my story! I love hearing everyone's thoughts and favorite lines and questions :) I'm so glad you all seem to like it so far, I was kinda worried everyone might not like chapter three…**

**Okay, so the previous chapter was kinda silly, but Gazzy is a silly kid so I thought the chapter should be fun (but you did find out more about Max!). Plus, chapter two was kinda depressing with Fang getting whipped…**

**FourNations93, yup, I plan to mention the crates but later when the white coats get more annoyed by the flock (and when all members of the flock appear, because they plan to wreak a little havoc, hehe). BlackWingsRainbowTips, I like the last line too, heh.**

**But now we move on to chapter four! :) Hope you guys like it and continue to read and review!! I always get worried after I finish writing a chapter and post it. I keep glancing at the computer waiting for reviews and hoping they're not mean.--sweatdrop-- heh, I'm weird like that… So thanks for reading and commenting constructive comments :)**

**Thank you! Thank you! Hope you enjoy chapter 4! **

**It's more serious than chapter 3, but still not as much action, you'll have to wait for chapter 5 for that!! :)**

**-KATHY :)**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 4: Sleeping Birds**

"Is it just me, or did that baby just sound like Iggy?" Fang gapped.

"Excuse me, but that baby's voice was girly! Whereas I have a manly six-year-old boy's voice," Iggy explained.

"Yeah, it did sound like Iggy," Max said glancing at the newest bundle of avian-human DNA.

Fang sighed. What were they doing to kids these days? Nudge seemed excited though, "Oh, oh! Maybe he's part parrot! I know someone who knows a guy who had a parrot that repeated words and ate seeds and stuff. Do you think we could eat seeds and stuff? We're probably more of meat eating birds though with those sharp beaks except we have teeth not beaks but I guess we have pretty sharp teeth. Oh! I bet Fang has sharp teeth because his name is Fang and fangs are those big, scary sharp teeth that wolves and vampires have. I wonder why Fang isn't part vampire instead but then he couldn't go out side which would be a total drag because it's nice out today but it's like cold but maybe it'll snow! I wish I could play in the snow! Don't you guys love snow? It's so…so…" For once Nudge was at a loss for words. She frowned.

"Wet?" Fang offered lamely. The baby grinned and drooled, "Snow, so, so, snow!"

"Exactly! Snow is so snow! I love this baby! Hey, he just sounded like me! That's so cool!" Nudge exclaimed.

Iggy interrupted, "Believe me, no one can talk like you can, Nudge." Max elbowed him and Iggy grinned back at her all but innocently.

"What do we do now?" Fang asked, turning to Max. Max stared back at Fang, "I don't know, I guess we should name him. We shouldn't call him 'Experiment Number Five' all day."

"Oh! How about Justin? Or maybe Ernie or George or Rick or Tobias or Toby or Nuddge or Maxx or Fanng. Oh, but not Iggy, maybe not Fanng after all either, Isaac could work though or--" Nudge listed.

A smell filled the room. _Is that a new power?_ Fang wondered, glaring at the giggling baby. _Super farting?_

Iggy groaned, "That's a lot of gas, man!" Max thought for a moment, trying to ignore the smell, "How about Gasman?"

Fang laughed, "Ha, Gassy for short." Nudge nodded, "Except instead of double's', double 'z' because 'z' is so much cooler than's'. I wish my name was Nudge hyphen 'z'! Like Nudge-z! So much better than Nuddge! Max-z is cool too! But when you put a 'z' on 'Fang', it's like Fang-z which sounds like pansy which is a flower! Fang could be a flower! If he would stop glaring at me like that! You'd be a dark and un-flowery flower! Max would be a pretty flower! Oh, that makes Fang happy! Dow you like flowers Max?"

Iggy shook his head disbelievingly, "A Gasman, a Nudge, a Fang, and a Max. Am I the only normal one here?"

Fang patted Iggy's shoulder, "Sorry, but being a six year-old mutant bird boy puts you out of the running for being 'Normal'".

The door of the room opened. Jeb came into the room with a sad look on his face, "Max, you and Experiment Number Five have to go to the lab now. They want to…test something."

"Gasman," Max said firmly. "What?" Jeb questioned. Max crossed her arms, "'Experiment Number Five's' name is Gasman."

Jeb smiled and nodded, "Of course, Max." He turned to the others, "Can one of you help carry Gasman? They don't want Max to come in contact with him yet."

They stared at Jeb. Fang spoke, "Why? You guys always seem to not tell us something. Why are you always bringing Max in with each one of us?"

Jeb shook his head, "Asking too many questions will get you into trouble, Experiment Num--Fang. I don't want any of you getting hurt because you're too curious. Ever hear of the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

"Hate to break it to you, Jeb, but we're not cats, we're smarter than that," Max said crossing her arms.

Jeb smiled sadly, "A trapped bird that gets a glimpse of being free will die to get out. Max, do you know what's out there in the world?"

Fang looked away as Max shook her head 'no'. Jeb nodded, "Better if you don't, or you'll die struggling to get free."

Max didn't understand, Fang could tell, "What's so great outside that you would die to get there?"

Fang closed his eyes, "Life, space, freedom, hope. It's all out there Max. In here we've got nothing but suffering and training to suffer some more."

Jeb looked at the dark haired boy. His dark eyes were sad, but they had a spark about them that made Jeb want to get out of the School too. This boy needed to be free.

Fang couldn't stand it. He looked around the enclosed room. Fang broke, "Jeb! Please, you have to know how to get out of the School!"

Jeb looked away, "We've got to go now Max, Gasman too." Max took Fang's hand and patted it, "Can Fang please come too? And Nudge and Iggy?"

"Okay," Jeb gave in after looking at Max's pleading eyes. Fang couldn't look Max in the eye. He didn't want her to see him so weak, "Jeb, please? Can't you help us?"

Jeb swallowed, "Only you guys can help yourselves, Fang." Fang gripped Max's hand tighter. Fang would be free, even if it took him years to get out. He would be free and Max, Iggy, Nudge, and Gasman would be by his side. They would be free.

--

Jeb watched from the side inside the lab. They had just drugged Max and the Gasman to make them fall asleep. Jeb was pained inside; after all, these were just small children. The one called the Gasman was just a baby! Plus, Max was Jeb's daughter! Though, she would probably never know.

Jeb's thoughts wandered back to the look he had seen in Fang's eyes. Desperation. Jeb was pained at the thought. What if that happened to Max? What if Max realized how trapped, isolated, tortured, she was in School? Would she hate him?

Jeb rubbed his temples. What could he do? Jeb glanced at Max's innocent face, a face that had not yet experienced true freedom. Of course Max was still content, but how long could that last?

Jeb knew what he had to do. Something had to change, and it wouldn't happen by him just standing here. He knew it. He had to set them free. If he didn't, they would die trying to escape

--

Fang and the others waited outside the lab, sitting on the cold floor. Nudge had fallen asleep, sprawled across Fang's and Iggy's laps.

Iggy smiled, "I like Nudge…when she's unconscious." Fang nodded looking at the dark face of the little three year-old.

"Is Experiment Number Three here?" A voice called from a different lab, next to the one Max and Gazzy were in.

Iggy raised his hand, "Here." A lady white coat motioned for him to enter the room she had come from, "We're going to attempt the fix your bad eye sight."

Iggy shrugged, "It's not that bad. It's not like I'm blind or anything." The lady glared at Iggy, "Please come here, Hybrid."

Iggy reluctantly got up, shifting Nudge so that she was lying only on Fang, "Wow, that lab lady sure wants me."

Fang smiled, "You're a one of a kind ladies man, Ig." Iggy nodded and headed toward the door.

About an hour passed, Fang had just stared at the walls. He couldn't fall asleep. He was worried about Max, Iggy, and Gazzy. The door next to the lab Iggy went into opened. Max stumbled out carrying Gazzy who was asleep. Max didn't seem stronger. Last time, with Nudge, Max at least had come out looking healthy. But today both Max and Gazzy were pale.

"You okay Max?" Fang asked, taking Gazzy from her. Max nodded, "Just a little tired. Jeb said that whatever the white coats were trying to do, didn't work. Where's Iggy?"

Fang pointed at the lab room, "We gotta wait for him." Max smiled at Fang and sat down next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Fang smiled and watched her for a while. Then, with Gazzy cradled in his arms, Nudge's head by his knee, and Max's head on his shoulder, Fang finally went to sleep.

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**Okay, I hope everyone liked that chapter :). I know not much happened, except for an outburst from Fang, but this chapter was pretty much a walkway for the next chapter…when things go bad for Iggy (you can probably guess what happens). Please review and await the next chapter!! :)**

**-KATHY :)**

**P.S. Is anyone going to try saying Nudge's little rant without stopping to breathe? ;) (the part that starts "Oh, oh! Maybe he's part parrot!") :D**


	5. Chapter 5: The Darkness

**Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and just for reading! I really appreciate that you guys take the time to read my story and comment! :)**

**Anyway, kitkino86, yeah, Iggy isn't blind yet, but in this chapter… :) well you'll see… And yeah, I kinda imagined that Fang talked more when he was little but got quieter when he got older because things got more serious and he was forced to grow up, poor Fang :(**

**FaxyLover, thanks for trying!! :) I breathed too, heh, four times actually, haha.  
And Fang Lover 23, I think we all appreciate how hard Nudge works to talk that much, and thank YOU for trying :)**

**FourNations93, you usually leave the longest comments, heh, thanks :) Yeah, I know how I get when I have to wait for chapters of stories to come out, so I try to write as fast as possible because waiting isn't fun. :) So I try to keep up my current pace! Heh :)**

**Kashiena, I think even though it was short and not much happened, I liked chapter four too. I think it's because the ending wasn't too "don don don…" and there was some fax-ness :)**

**Now here's chapter 5! Hope you enjoy it! Please review and continue to read! Thank you! Thank you! Please join me for chapter 6! It might take me awhile to post though, because i'm going to be pretty busy tomorrow :( Please read it thought when it comes out!!**

**- KATHY :)**

* * *

**DNAvians: Chapter 5: The Darkness**

Fang woke with a start. He had thought he heard a scream. He looked at Max. She was carefully nestled on his shoulder. Her arms were around his elbow, holding him tightly. Fang couldn't help but smile. He didn't want to move but the scream worried him. Fang carefully got up, shifting Nudge and Gazzy safely aside. He carefully placed Max's head on Nudge's lap and slid away.

Fang walked over to the lab door, but there wasn't any sound. He wondered if he had imagined it. A sound of a whip cracking rang loud and clear. Fang new he hadn't imagined it now.

Max rubbed her eye, "Fang? What's wrong?" Fang's voice was hard, "Sorry Max, I didn't mean to wake you, but I thought I heard a scream." Max nodded. She listened and heard yelling from the lab.

Another crash came. Several other fragile things seem to break. Nudge woke up, "Max, Fang?"

"I think Iggy's in trouble. Nudge, you stay here! Watch Gazzy. Fang and I are gonna go see what's going on," Max said scrambling to stand up. Fang grabbed her hand and they rushed over to the door.

Fang backed up and ran, giving the door a hard kick. He had made a large dent, but he was only six after all. There was another crash and he heard someone fall to the floor in pain. "Let us in!" Fang yelled kicking the door once more and hitting the steel handle of the door with all his might. Max helped in the effort; the door loosened but stayed intact.

An electric zap was heard and something hit the ground hard. Finally, the lab door opened and a tiny body was dragged out in a net.

"Iggy!" Max and Fang rushed to Iggy's side. Iggy was unconscious, curled in a ball. A hole was burned through the right side of his shirt, revealing raw damaged skin. Max knocked out the nearest two white coats and took the net from them. A third white coat swore and shoved Max aside, throwing her against the wall. Max got up and attacked a different white coat that had come toward her. Fang tackled the man who had thrown Max, knocking him into three other white coats. Two of them passed out from hitting their heads. Fang turned and kicked two more, causing them to bend over and whimper. Max slugged one in the stomach.

Together they managed to beat up more than fifteen white coats. They heard noise come from Iggy and realized that he was now awake.

Fang and Max ran to Iggy, pulling the netting from his scratched up body. They tried to make him sit up but he looked completely broken from the inside out.

"Ig?" Max whispered. Fang stared as Iggy dejectedly sat up. He would not look up. "Fang," he choked out, "Max."

He finally looked up at them after several moments of silence. Tears were streaming down from his glazed over eyes, dripping from his long, pale eyelashes. The pale blue of his wide, innocent eyes had become even paler and seemed almost cold, "I…can't…" he swallowed. Then whispered, trying again "can't see. I can't see. It's dark. Everything is dark," His throat tightened and he looked away as he lost control and let out a single sob.

Fang put his hand on Iggy's shoulder and squeezed. Max took Iggy's small face in her hands, "Iggy," she didn't know what to say. The hopelessness in Iggy's eyes was heart wrenching. Max's eyes welled up unwillingly. Fang hid his pained expression, and put an arm around Max too.

Tears continued to stream down Iggy's face. Max pulled him into a tight hug, also grabbing Fang's hand and squeezing for support. Nudge carrying Gazzy came over too and joined. For once she had few words to say, "I'm sorry, Ig. They hurt you so bad."

Fang knew what she meant. Though many of them had been beaten and whipped before, those wounds healed up, leaving only pale scars. Iggy might never see again, and that hurt more than any of them could imagine. It would always be dark for Iggy. No sunshine, flowers, or the blue sky. Not even the shiny titanium of the walls. Just…darkness.

Hugging Iggy, they didn't see an approaching lady white coat and a large, chubby man. She held a taser in her hand. Before they could turn around, she reached out and Nudge crumpled to the floor and Gazzy rolled onto the floor out of her arms. Two white coats grabbed Nudge and Gazzy. More came, grabbing the others too. Fang was slapped across the face with a meaty hand. 'Santa' was back.

Max and Fang struggled and fought, but each was held back by four large men. Iggy was taken easily, not a struggle or a scream from him. He felt that his battle had already ended, and he had lost.

"Stop!" a voice called suddenly. "Jeb," Max gasped. Jeb ignored Max and played his part, "It would be a true waste to terminate such a wonderful hybrid that our scientist took so long to create. I say that we train him to use his other senses! What do you think, Veranda?" Jeb asked the lady white coat.

Veranda glared, squeezing the taser she held, "Shut up, Batchelder. The mutant is damaged! Who would want to train him? And don't you dare offer!"

Max cleared her throat, "Uh, we can do it." The white coats turned and stared, "You, Maximum?"

Max swallowed, "We'll make you a wager. If Iggy can't fight and win against anyone you choose, you can," she breathed, "terminate him. But if he wins, he lives. And you must give us time to train him!"

Santa nodded, "That's interesting, but I'm not too sure…"

"Are you afraid?" Fang asked with cold, taunting eyes. They glowed with hate for the man who had whipped him.

"Excuse me?" Santa demanded. Fang didn't waver, "Are you afraid that we'll succeed?" Fang grinned to push him over the edge.

"No!" Santa barked, "Fine, in one week he goes up against anyone we choose!" Fang nodded and helped Iggy up. He let Iggy lean on his shoulder. Max took Iggy's other arm and led out to the hallway.

Nudge trailed behind them, carrying Gazzy. She turned back, "See all you suckers later! We're gonna beat you so bad you'll be begging us to let you go! Iggy's gonna fly circles around you and make you all so dizzy you'll cry, then Max and Fang and I are gonna come in and beat your B-U-T-T-S! Do you hear me? We're gonna beat you guys to pulp! Make you cry for your mommies! We're gonna make you cry for anyone's mommy! You'll be kissing our feet and wiping our noses next time you see us! You guys are such suckers for challenging us because we RULE! R-U-L-E, rule! It rhymes with cruel which is how we're gonna treat you when you beg us to have mercy! Bye losers!"

Gazzy burped and waved, "Losers! Losers! Suckers! Bye, bye!"

Nudge skipped out of the room happily, carrying a clapping Gazzy. She rubbed his fuzzy blond hair, "Nice job baby!"

The two of them caught up to the others, "Max, do you think we can really train Iggy to fight, even though he can't see?"

Max nodded, "Yes, I do. Iggy knows how to fight; we just need to teach him how to look at the world now."

Fang patted Iggy's shoulder, "You'll be kicking butt in no time." Iggy pulled his head up and gave a weak, watery smile, but a smile all the same, "You think so?"

Fang nodded, "I know so buddy, and I'm always right." Iggy gave another weak smile.

Nudge jumped up and down excitedly, "We'll be like your personal trainers!" Iggy nodded reaching out to pat Nudge on the head. She moved so he wouldn't miss.

There was silence then Max finally said what everyone was wondering, "What'd they do to you Iggy?"

Iggy shook his head, "I…I don't know. When I was really little, my eyesight was really good, like extremely good. Then one day after a session at the lab, I think it was when I was two, my eyesight got really bad. I could still see, I wasn't blind, but it was worse. I guess today they tried to fix it, make it better again, at least that's what the lady, Veranda said, but I guess something went wrong and…now…I'm…I'm…blind." He swallowed, "When I first woke up out of the sleep they put me in, I couldn't see, but I thought maybe they turned off the lights or whatever, it was really dark. I asked them if they could turn on the lights. I heard whispering, I could tell they were panicking. I got freaked out and tried to get loose, because they tied me down. When I got loose, they thought I was dangerous or something so some really big man tackled me and I fought back but I can't see so I crashed into some stuff and I broke a lot of beakers. Then after a while of breaking stuff and crashing into walls I get electrocuted and I guess I passed out and, yeah…"

Iggy closed his eyes, "It's so dark." He opened his eyes, "And it never goes away. I keep thinking, maybe I'm dreaming, this isn't real. Tomorrow I'll wake up and see the sunrise framed by the steel window from my bunk bed. See Fang give me an evil glare when I kick him in the head getting down off the top bunk. Press the red buzzer for the white coats to let me out of the room. And so on, but I won't." He waved his hand in front of his eyes, "Nothing ever again."

"You don't have to see with your eyes, Ig," Fang said surprising even himself. "Well, what I guess I mean is, do you know if someone is a good person by looking at them? No, you don't. You feel it in here," Fang pointed at his heart, "You judge by what they say and how they feel to you. You just feel it. When you're asleep by the window or whatever, you don't know the sun is up by looking at it because your eyes are closed, but you feel the wall heat up and your skin tingle with heat. You feel it; you don't need to see it, because you feel it."

Iggy didn't say anything for awhile but then smiled, "That's the most you've ever said in all six years of your life. But you're right Fang, I can feel it. I can feel 'care' from you guys, so much care that it's suffocating."

They laughed. Max squeezed Iggy's hand, "So you ready to train?" Iggy turned toward her voice and smiled, "Yup, I ready to kick some white coat butt." And with Max on his right, Fang on his left, Nudge and Gazzy in front of him, he meant what he had said. Iggy was truly ready to kick some butt!

* * *

**Okay, I hope really hope everyone like that. It wasn't as long as I thought I would make it, but it's longer than the other chapters. Surprisingly, it was hard to write, because I wrote it so quickly that it was originally only half a page! I had to go back and add scenes and stuff. I hope it wasn't too bad :( Please review and wait for the next chapter! The next chapter is about Iggy's training :) Thank you for reading! Hope you stay with me for the next chapter!**

**-KATHY :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Blind Fear

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* * *

**

Okay, I think I've made you guys wait too long for this. I'm sorry! I have a lot more to do this summer, so sometimes I just don't have much time. But I'll really try to make the wait not more than 1-3 days. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews and support, I REALLY appreciate it and read every single one of them and take them into consideration when I write these chapters :)

**I wanted Iggy to get his cooking skills in this chapter, so I apologize if it seems random. :) Without further ado, chapter 6!**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 6: Blind Fear**

"_Fang! Fang!" Max yelled not bothering to hold back tears, "Do something! We need to help Iggy!" Fang turned to see what Max was pointing at. A large man held a gun and slinked towards Iggy, "You failed mutant, time to die!"_

_Fang yelled angrily trying to get to Iggy and attack the man. But his feet were immobile, "Iggy!" Fang reached hopelessly as a bullet whizzed toward Iggy's heart. _Fang shifted uncomfortably in his bed. The dream changed. _"Fang?" Max called to him smiling, "Want to go flying?" Suddenly the red-haired girl from Fang's past appeared, "Fang, stay with me!"_

_Max grabbed Fang's hand, "Fang, come flying with me!" Her eyes pleaded. The red-haired girl grabbed Fang's other hand, "Fang? Want to go sit on the swing?"_

The sun crept into the room creating light through the singular window. Fang rubbed his eyes with irritation, "The one night I actually fall asleep, I have to wake up early from." He thought of his dreams, "Maybe I don't mind waking up…"

"Morning Sunshine," Iggy called from the bottom bunk. He had been awake for awhile; he didn't want to miss a minute of his possibly final week of life.

Fang yawned then looked at Iggy with concern, "Did you get any sleep at all, Ig? You look like someone punched you under your eyes."

Iggy sighed, "Let's just go eat breakfast and then some training." Fang smiled encouragingly but then remember Iggy couldn't see it. He jumped swiftly from the top bunk and pulled Iggy up out of bed. Iggy scoffed, "It used to be me dragging you out of bed, oh how the tables have turned."

"Come on, Ig, let's go embrace the new day, everything will be wonderful today! Don't be so silent and moody," Fang said with a straight face. Iggy found Fang's shoulder and then punched it lightly, "That coming from Mr. Doom and Gloom himself."

Fang smiled. _At least Iggy is making jokes._ Fang pressed the red button on the wall.

"Yes?" a voice growled. Iggy answered, "Can we go to eat breakfast now?" The voice seemed to laugh, "No breakfast this early, go and make it yourselves."

Fang and Iggy looked at each other. Fang almost started laughing at the thought of cooking, "But we're boys! And we're six years old!"

The voice yawned, "Do I look like I care?" Iggy was about to make a comment about talking to a metal speaker but the voice interrupted, clearly irritated, "Look, I'm gonna let you guys out and let you pass into one of the small kitchens but no one is there yet so you gotta cook it yourselves!" The speaker crackled and then became silent.

Iggy waved his hand in front of his own face and mocked, "Do I look like I cook?" Fang patted Iggy's shoulder.

The door swung open and the two young boys trudged out of the room toward one of the small kitchens that they were told to go to. Fang opened the door swiftly; there were a couple kids in there already.

"Oh," Max called out in surprise. There with her were Nudge and the Gasman. The kitchen looked like a war zone.

Iggy looked confused, "Hey, I smell something burning and oil and flour everywhere. Like, literally in every corner of the room."

Fang sighed, "Because it is everywhere and in every corner of the room. What happened here Max?"

Max winced, "Uh, I tried to cook…" Iggy laughed, "And you ended up with all this?" He said gesturing to the whole room. He hit Fang in the shoulder by accident.

Gazzy clapped, "Maxy cooking go boom! Fire! Fire! Ka-boom! Splash! War zone!"

Fang chuckled, "I see now." He wet a small towel and wiped the egg shells off of Gazzy's face.

Max crossed her arms, "Like you guys can do better." Fang walked up to Max and smiled, "At least I don't get more flour on me than in the batter." He took a new wet towel and wiped Max's cheek gently.

Max turned red and she swiped the towel from Fang, "I can do it myself!" Fang laughed but let her be. After cleaning up the kitchen, Fang and Iggy attempted to cook. The counters were low enough so that they could reach everything.

Iggy ran his hands along the stove, oven, counter, and tables, memorizing where everything was. He smiled, "I think I can do this. Fang can you hand me a large pan and twenty eggs? I think each of us would eat about four eggs right?"

Fang got the eggs and handed them to Iggy. He was glad Iggy felt confident about something. Fang pulled out a bowl and set it near Iggy, "Bowl right side, Ig."

Iggy nodded and cracked each egg carefully one by one. He smiled proudly when he had cracked all of them. Fang quickly fished out the egg shells that had gotten in so that Iggy wouldn't notice he had let some in. _Hey, Iggy's doing better than I would have done._ Fang thought nodding.

Iggy cooked breakfast using his hearing and smell. Usually the first one of something didn't turn out great but after that they were all perfect. Iggy took note of the cooking times for each item. He smiled when he had finished cooking all the eggs, bacon, and pancakes, "I'm practically a five-star chef!"

"I'm a five-star chef," Gazzy mimicked through a mouth full of mushy eggs. He giggled and then burped.

Nudge rolled her eyes, "Come on Gazzy! That's totally gross! You have to say excuse me once you burp or it's really rude and everyone will run away…" She droned on lecturing Gazzy about his bodily functions. Gazzy burped again in protest and continued to eat his pancakes.

Fang stared, "Should babies really be eating solid foods?"

Max shrugged, "He seems fine. Just let him eat it. Anyway, Iggy, are you ready for training today?"

"…ready as I'll ever be I guess," Iggy said shrugging. Fang could tell he was nervous.

Max smiled, "It's okay Ig; I bet Fang will be a great obstacle course teacher!" Iggy snorted, "Are you kidding me? This guy has the patience of a fish!"

"I do not…" Fang answered turning away. Iggy laughed again, "This guy once was helping me with adding and subtracting and he got frustrated by my questions and threw a pencil at my head!"

Fang shrugged, "It was an un-sharpened pencil." Iggy glared. Max patted Iggy's hand, "I'm sure you'll do fine." Fang was still worried, _I hope so._

* * *

Iggy ran quickly, jumping over the chair he had tripped over previously. He was doing great, dodging stuff he had hit earlier but then he slammed into Fang who kept moving to make things harder.

"Again," Fang demanded. Iggy groaned from the floor, "But I've done this obstacle course eleven times already!"

Fang crossed his arms and glared, "And did you get completely through without hitting something? No, you didn't, Ig! Do. It. Again."

Iggy glared back, "That's because I'm **blind**! Don't act like you're the boss of me!"

Fang growled, "If you don't want to die Ig, stop using blindness as an excuse and DO IT AGAIN! You think the white coats care if you're blind and can't fight! No, if you lose they will kill you! You'll die Iggy! Do you want to die?!"

Iggy spat at Fang, "Sure, fine, whatever! No matter how hard I try, I'm still gonna be blind! Even if I win the match, I'll still be blind! Maybe if I die, everything will be better!" Iggy stood up, frustration burning in his eyes.

"Iggy," Max said putting a hand on his small shoulder. She glanced at Fang. Iggy shrugged off her hand and walked away.

Max approached Fang, "Are you okay, Fang?" He nodded. Max looked toward where Iggy had gone, "Um, I should go check on Iggy…"

Fang turned away, "Go, I'm fine, I don't care." Fang spread his wide, glistening black wings and flew up toward the top of the glass dome. _What am I doing?_ Fang asked himself. He used to like being alone and thinking. He would run and hide under tables to be alone. But now his thinking was strangling him and being alone made him hurt. Fang steadied his wings and let himself float down. The hard ground and dying grass pressed against him. Would Iggy die soon? Would his very first friend be gone forever? Fang close his eyes and demanded sleep to take him.

* * *

"Ig!" Max shouted, grabbing his arm. Iggy didn't answer, but he stopped walking. Max gently pulled him in her arms and patted his soft blond hair, "Iggy, you know Fang cares about you. You're one of his best buds."

Iggy stayed silent. Max patted his back, "He's being such a grouch because he wants you to live. He doesn't want you to lose in the match and get killed because that's probably one of the worst things he can think of. He's being so hard on you because the truth it, Fang is kind of scared."

Iggy pushed Max away gently, "Well, that's no good; because I'm…I'm scared too. And what good is two scared kids?"

Max patted Iggy's back and smiled, "Really good if they're two scared kids who are gonna try they're hardest. Heh, it also doesn't hurt that they happen to be super strong bird boys!"

Iggy couldn't help but smile. Max held a hand out to Iggy, "How about **I** train you?"

Iggy turned to Max, "But you're a girl, do you know how to fight?" Max laughed loudly, "You really shouldn't have asked that."

Max stood across from Iggy, "Okay let's try having our own little battle." Max used a roundhouse kick, catching Iggy off guard. He got up quickly though and threw a punch. Max smiled and caught the punch, flipping Iggy over. Before hitting the ground, Iggy spread his wings and flapped them, shooting up a couple of feet. Max played the part of a flightless white coat and stayed on the ground. Iggy listened for Max's breathing. He swooped down and grabbed her. He then swung her around dropping her. Max landed neatly on her feet and threw a punch at him. He felt the fist coming at him and dodged quickly, "Heh, maybe Fang's obstacle course did help me." He heard Max's foot crush and twig. Snapping into action, Iggy plummeted down and tackled Max. Iggy smiled, "I win!"

They sat up laughing, "A couple more matches and you'll be ready to take on any white coat, even the big muscular ones! You might even be able to take on Gazzy's gas attack!"

Nudge and Gazzy came over and say next to Iggy. Iggy laughed, "I don't think I'll ever be able to take on the Gasman."

Iggy, Max, Nudge, and Gazzy sat a while, looking up at the sky through the glass listening to Nudge chatter on about useless things. Max felt something was missing from this moment, "Hey, Iggy, I think I should go talk to Fang now."

Iggy nodded, "I'll talk to him later."

* * *

Fang closed his eyes, feeling the sun beat down on him. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't and the dreams he had disturbed him

"Fang?" a voice called. Fang opened his eyes to see Max hovering worriedly over him.

"What are you doing?" Max asked. Fang sighed, "Just lying around thinking." Max watched his long eyelashes flutter shut, "Can I join you?"

Fang shrugged, "Whatever." _Why is Max here? Didn't she run off with Iggy?_ Fang almost laughed, it sounded like he was jealous. _Which I'm not…_

He felt Max's body next to him and the heat of her arm was on his arm, "Are you worried Fang?"

Fang shook his head, "I'm Fang. I don't worry." Max smiled at that, "He'll be okay Fang. Iggy's a strong kid."

Fang let out a breath slowly, "I've known him longer than you have Max, sometimes Iggy just…breaks. He's always making jokes and teasing and stuff. But I see him sitting by the edge of the dome a lot. He really wants to be free too. This is no time for him to die. Not in here. If he dies, it'll be out there. Outside of this place, where he's free. He'll die free." Fang mumbled.

"Are you scared to die trapped in here to Fang?" Max asked turning toward him. Fang didn't answer for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he finally answered. "If Iggy can be sentenced to die so easily, what's stopping the white coats from terminating us? Plus, I still can't believe what they did to Iggy. I really wonder how far these white coats will go to create the ultimate experiment…"

Max turned Fang's face toward her, "You aren't going through this alone, Fang. Besides, I bet you that someday we'll be free." Max grabbed Fang's hand and squeezed, "Iggy will be fine. Someday we'll get out of this place. And we'll all be together."

Fang squeezed Max's hand and they looked up at the blue sky. A large dark bird circled over the dome. Its wings fluttered and shined. It went higher into the sky, away from the School. Flying higher, pushing harder, and finally it was gone.

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**Okies, I hope you guys liked that! Please review and tell me what you think! Thank you for reading! I'll try to write the next chapter as quickly as possible! It'll probably be Iggy's battle, so it might take longer to write. Please be patient! I'm sorry I haven't been writing a fast as I usually do! Anyway, thank you again everyone! I really appreciate the encouragment and the suggestions!  
Thanky you! Thank you!**

**KATHY :)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Arena

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I'll really try to update more often now! Again, soooo sorry!**

**Thank you everyone for the reviews and for reading my story! I really appreciate all your comments and stuff and I'd like to reply to all of them, but I never get a chance too. But just to let you know, I do read ALL of them :) But just to answer some questions that some of you had (cough…FourNations93…cough) Maybe Max let Iggy win, but we may never know… :) I'm guessing the others were up pretty early to create such a mess! Haha! Yes, I wish I could put more extreme Faxness, but they're six so…but Fang might get a kiss from Max…we'll have to see…heh :) And finally, for the last question, everyone will have to read and tell me how they like it! Thank you! Thank you!**

**Heh, in this chapter you learn about Iggy blowing up stuff, and the start of the battle…enjoy! I promise the chapter after this will have much more action! Sorry again for taking so long!!**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 7: The Arena**

After a full week of getting up early, cooking, and getting beat up by Max and Fang, Iggy felt semi-confident as he got up on the day of his battle. Well…as confident as a six year-old about to maybe-die, can get.

Fang tapped Iggy's hand, "Finally awake, Ig?" Iggy nodded but was still hesitant to really embrace the day, "Hey Fang, do you think I'll…"

"Yes, you'll win. No stupid white coat is gonna take down a mutant kid! Even if they're four times our weight, they won't even touch you!" Fang said with the confidence he didn't feel. _Iggy could do this, right?_ Watching Iggy walk carefully toward the door and feel the wall for the button, Fang wasn't so sure. What would happen if Iggy was gone? What if any of his friends were gone? Max? Nudge? Even Gazzy?

"Fang!" Iggy shouted, "Man, you keep spacing out. The door is open already!" "Oh," Fang answered lamely.

Fang and Iggy walked silently down the hall. Though Iggy's sightless eyes looked no where, Fang could tell Iggy was taking it all in. Remembering everything he could. The smells and the sounds, remembering them all. The School was not in anyway a happy place, but it was where they had lived all their short lives. It was where all the mutants were. Their only family…their flock. They had gotten into a lot of trouble in only six years and Fang felt they weren't done yet. Iggy had to survive. Who else would Fang watch cook and blow up things? Iggy was one of a kind, indispensable. They all were. And for a while, Fang thought they were indestructible too. Would the white coats probe him wrong?

Fang shook his head and tried to think of something else. He remembered all the times he and Iggy had gotten into trouble. Fang picked out his favorite and remembered it fully. He started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Iggy asked grimly.

Fang chuckled, "Remember that time we both got whipped really badly when we were five? I stole a couple gadget things and you re-wired them and we blew up an entire hallway? It went KA-BOOM!"

Iggy nodded and grinned reluctantly, "I still have the scars. It was really cool though. The whole hallway went up in flames."

Fang's grin grew, "They beat us till we were bloody and really sore. Then when we saw Santa all mad and tomato-faced, we started laughing and they beat us again."

Iggy nodded, "But we're big now. That was about a year ago!" Fang agreed, "Yup, no more exploding stuff, right Ig?"

Iggy just smiled.

--

After a few moments, they arrived in the eating room and received their dull but large breakfast.

Fang sighed as he shoveled bland oatmeal in his mouth, "You cook way better than these guys, Ig."

Iggy looked at the limp piece of toast in his hand, "I know!" The door of the room swung open. Max, Nudge, and the Gasman entered. Nudge took one look at Iggy's and Fang's breakfast and stuck her tongue out in disgust, "Eww! That stuff looks gross! Oatmeal should not be that gray, it should be warm and honey colored with yummy nuts and stuff in it and should not look that gross! It looks like the stuff that Gazzy puked yesterday except all hot and goopy and that toast is all warped is that even toast? Oh, god, eww, it is! It looks like the bottom of a shoe! But not the nice pretty brown bottoms of new shoes but like the bottoms of Iggy's icky sneakers. It's like white but not white like snow, it's like white with burned stuff on it. Ewwwwwwwwww!"

Iggy seemed to think very hard, "…I think…I agree. I think I actually understood Nudge!" Max laughed and Gazzy burped.

Fang wondered if Nudge got easier to understand as the years went on. He patted her on the head. He looked at Nudge defending her rambling and Iggy joking and Max smiling and tickling Gazzy who was giggling and burping. _I wish things could always be like this. I wish we could always be happy._

There was an angry knock on the door and a tall man entered, "We need to separate you now."

Max seemed to be about to slam his head into the wall, "Why?!" The man was followed by five large, hairy muscular men, "We don't want you guys planning to make trouble at the battle today. Our newest experiments, these lupine-human hybrids, will escort you two your holding cells. Lupine means wolf, as I suspect you children didn't know. They will then escort you to the field area where you will watch the blind mutant fight. Experiment number three, you come with me."

Each of the flock was grabbed by one of the large, wolf-like, experiments. They were much stronger than the white coats, and even slightly stronger than Fang and Max. Iggy was taken by one who followed the tall white coat down the hall.

"Iggy," Fang choked out as a wolf-man grabbed him. _Will Iggy have to fight one of the new wolf guys to……_The wolf-man holding Fang raised his meaty fist high and smashed it down on Fang's head.

_--_

Fang woke up groggily. His head hurt like hell and his wings were sore, probably from being thrown. He opened his eyes and waited for them to adjust to the dark. _Where am I?_ He could finally see. He was in an empty lab in a cage. He grabbed a handle bar of the cage and pulled. It didn't even budge. He slammed harder with his hands. Still nothing.

Fang stood to try tackling the bars but was immediately forced back down. He looked up and sighed, "Of course. OF FRICKING COURSE! They can make bird people and wolf people, BUT THEY CAN'T MAKE A STUPID CAGE THAT'S BIGGER THAN A SIX-YEAR OLD SQUATTING!!"

He hit the top of the cage angrily, _what am I? A stupid dog or something?_ The darkness of the room and the size of the cage were slowly driving him insane. He could hardly see and couldn't move much. A bird trapped in a cage, that's what he was. The minutes rolled by. Eventually, an hour had passed. Suddenly light poured into the room. Fang flinched and covered his eyes. A husky voice called, "Almost time to go mutant."

--

A man dragged Max toward a double door. As they entered, Max couldn't help but be in awe, "Well, the white coats have certainly outdone themselves…"

Through the double doors was an arena, much like a football field. A large, grassy plain was surrounded by one row of chairs. It seemed that all the white coat spectators had already arrived.

Max scanned the place looking for Fang or Nudge or Iggy or even little Gazzy. While she scanned she heard a loud excited voice, "Oh my goodness! This place is huge! Was that an echo? That was an echo! Echo! Echo! ECHO! Oh, so cool! I can't believe that these boring old guys who dress in white could come up with a place that's this cool! It's like all grassy but its inside and the chairs are all blue which a totally cool color and I wanna run around that field!"

"Nudge?" Max asked. The little three year-old turned, "Max! Hi, do you see this amazing field?"

Max smiled and hugged her, "Do you know where the others are? I haven't seen Iggy or Fang or Gazzy!"

Nudge shrugged, "Iggy's probably getting ready to fight. Fang and Gazzy, I don't know. Maybe they're together?"

The two of them continued to scan the field. Nudge tapped Max, "There! There's Iggy!"

Iggy stepped on to the field, looking around worriedly. Max and Nudge called out loudly, "IGGY!"

He turned toward they're voices, "Max! Hey Nudge!" He walked carefully toward them, "Max, where are Fang and Gazzy?"

Just then they heard a burp. "Maxy," someone called in Nudge's voice. Max turned and saw a large wolf guy carrying Gazzy awkwardly, "Gazzy!"

Iggy smiled, "That's great. But where's Fang?" Max patted his shoulder, "Don't worry Iggy, Fang will be here, even if he has to beat up hundreds of those wolf guys!"

Nudge held up her hand, "I've been thinking about a name for those wolf guys. We should call them Erasers!"

They stared at her, "Why?" Before Nudge could explain a voice boomed, "Mutant Number Three get ready! Your battle is starting!"

Iggy's face crumpled "Gotta go now." Max squeezed his hand, "Good luck Iggy." He smiled weakly.

Nudge pumped her fist, "Let's go Iggy! You can do it! Yeah, Iggy! Go! Go!" The Gasman clapped happily.

Iggy flew around taking in the presence of all the objects on the field. Then he landed and stood on the left side of the field, "Ready."

Max bit her lip nervously, "Who's his opponent?" The doors at the end opposite Iggy flew open.

Nudge jumped up and down excitedly, "They're here!"

A body was shoved rudely through the door. The person rubbed the back of his head. "What the heck?" he called.

He stood up slowly. Max's mouth dropped open, "Fang?"

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**I'm really sorry this chapter wasn't that long. But it was just to set up for the battle. I hope you still liked it though.  
Okay, the next chapter is THE BATTLE! Who will win? Don don don! I hope you stay with me for the next chapter! I promise you that the next chapter will be longer and I'll get it up as soon as possible. I've already started writing it! :)**

**The next chapter will show what happens during the battle and two years later. There's still much more to go! It does not end with the "two years later", I promise :)**

**Thank you! Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that it took so long and that it's kind of short!**

**-KATHY :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Guilty Freedom: The Battle

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever! I was on vacation in Disney World and I didn't have a laptop or a computer there. :( I'm really terribly wholly sorry for making you guys wait so long!!**

**Okay, this chapter is a little bit short (compared to what it's supposed to be) but I thought I would cut it short so you guys wouldn't have to wait so long! Sorry again! And thank you for all the reviews!**

**Thank you! Thank you! I promise next chapter will be longer!**

**KATHY :)**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 8: Guilty Freedom (The Battle)**

Fang stared wildly at the field. His eyes fell on Iggy, "Ig? What's going on?" Fang looked around and caught Max's worried gaze.

Iggy's pale eyes were wide with panic, "I don't--"

"Hello Mutants!" the large white coat, 'Santa' laughed. "Isn't this wonderful? I've set up a lovely game for you two. You mutants will fight each other. Whoever is beat up the most, looses! I'll take the loser and hack his head off! Isn't that medieval twist wonderful?" he laughed hysterically.

Fang spat, "What if we don't play your stupid game?"

Santa giggled, "Then _both_ of you die! Isn't that fun?" He suddenly turned serious, "I want to see blood or both of you die!"

Fang looked at Iggy who seemed about to collapse. Would both of them be able to survive? He looked at Santa; most likely not. But one of them could survive, right?

Fang took a deep breath, "Iggy, I want you to come at me like you wanna kill me." Iggy staggered, "What?!"

Fang smiled, "Iggy, I promise you, both of us will get out of this alive." Iggy swallowed, "Fang, we'll both get out fine."

Fang almost broke down at the sight of the trust in Iggy's sightless eyes, "Of course, Ig, I promise."

--

Max watched Fang and Iggy stand across from each other. _They're gonna fight!_ Max realized. Nudge squeezed Max's hand. Gazzy's little body tensed up.

_What was Fang thinking?_ Max wondered staring at the dark-haired boy. His eyes seemed to avoid looking at Max. _He has to have a plan right? To make sure both of them survive._

Max watched as Iggy crouched into a low stance. He was ready to attack. Max looked at Fang, his expression was guarded.

Iggy came barreling toward where Fang was. But something seemed wrong as Max watched Fang. Fang wasn't getting ready to block. He let his arms hang loosely and his muscles weren't tense for a fight.

Max realized with horror, "Fang's gonna throw the fight!"

--

Before Iggy could stop his momentum, his fist connected hard with Fang's jaw. Blood gushed from his mouth and stained Iggy's hand. "Fang," Iggy choked out.

Fang tried to reassure Iggy, "I'll be okay." Iggy grabbed Fang by the shoulders, "Fang, hit me! Fang, you'll die!"

Fang shook his head. "Is that all? Just one punch?" Santa sighed, "Come on, make this more interesting!"

But everyone knew, there was no way that Fang would hit Iggy back. Fang patted Iggy's shoulder, "It'll be okay."

They stood for a while before Santa finally called out in frustration, "That's it! **Both** of you die!"

Fang whipped around to face Santa, "You said you would let one of us survive!" Santa laughed, "Yeah but a damaged experiment survived! The blind one needs to be terminated! He's damaged! And you, you just lost to that stupid, damaged experiment!"

Fang lunged at 'Santa' and tackled him. His tiny hands barely managed to wrap around the white coat's neck but he pressed down, "Shut. Up."

Santa managed to choke out, "Get….him…o…off!" The Erasers swarmed around, dragging Fang off Santa and grabbing Iggy off the field.

Santa rubbed his next, "They're gonna die! Put them in the cages! They're gonna die today!" His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was deranged, "They're gonna die!"

--

Fang slammed his fist against the bars. He was once again, in the tiny cage in the dark room.

"Fang?" Iggy called out. Fang sighed, "Here Ig." Iggy felt around the cage, "Fang, what does the room look like?"

Fang shrugged, "It's dark in here, Ig, I don't know." Iggy almost smiled, "Guess we're both blind now?"

Fang reached to try to pat Iggy on the arm but the bars were to close together. Fang heard Iggy slouch, "Fang, are we gonna die?"

He didn't answer. He scanned the room and figured out that they were probably up on a table. He felt the bars of the cage. _Bars aren't indestructible._ Fang thought as he kicked one. _Maybe…_Fang started to rock back and forth with what little space he had. He managed to tip the cage a bit before it reverted back into position. Fang smiled. _I got it!_ Fang leaned back with as much force as possible and the same going forward. He repeated over and over until he had the whole cage tipping with him. Finally, the balance of the cage gave and it was flung off the table on to the floor with a large crash.

But the bars were still intact. Fang kicked one, "Dang it!" The only thing the rocking had done was put Fang upside-down on the hard, cold floor.

Iggy sighed, "Fang, if we die, who will you miss the most? Just one person, you'd miss more than anyone."

Max's face came into Fang's head, but he decided against saying it. Fang shrugged, "I don't know if I have just one person. I'd miss our whole flock."

Iggy laughed, "Flock?"

Fang laughed a little too, "Well, I kind of thought of that 'cause we're part bird. So it's like a flock."

Iggy nodded, "Flock… I like that! We're a flock."

They sat there in silence. The dark of the cold lab room wrapped around them and the bars of the cage dug into their backs. The seconds rolled by as they awaited death.

Fang wondered if Max would be okay. What would she be like when she turned into a grown up? Would she fall in love? Would she still remember Fang? Fang closed his eyes. Fang would miss Max. She was his first friend, other than Iggy. His first love, his second crush. He remembered how her hand had felt in his. Fang smiled at the memory. _I guess Max won't ever know that I like her._ Fang looked at his hands; _I've been alive for about six years…am I ready to die?_ His throat felt dry. What would it be like to be gone? Could he still watch over Max? See Gazzy giggle? Listen to Nudge's rants? It would be nice if he could. Fang put his hands over his eyes, _where do people go when they die?_ Would it be the same place for him and Iggy? Or was it different because they had wings? Would it hurt a lot when he died? Would anyone remember him when he was gone?

An un-escapable tear dripped from one of Fang's dark eyes. _What do people do when they're about to die?_

Fang staggered as light suddenly poured into the room. He sneered, "Ready to hack our heads off?"

"Shh, Fang, it's me, Jeb," a voice called from the door. Fang's eyes adjusted. It really was Jeb.

Jeb closed the door.

Iggy seemed worried, "Why are you here?" Jeb came over to them with a ring of keys, "I'm here to free you two."

Fang was skeptical, "Why? What's in it for you?" Jeb shook his head, "Trust me Fang, you two are much better free and alive than dead. Plus, Max would hate me forever if I let you two die."

Fang said nothing as he crawled out of the cage. He helped Iggy out, "So what's your plan Jeb?"

Jeb took a breath in, "I'm going to let you guys out of the School."

Iggy's eyes were wide as he looked at Jeb, "What?!" Fang kept cool, "What's in it for you?"

Jeb sighed, "Well…honestly, you two aren't exactly perfect experiments, but I do not wish to see such lovely specimens die. Plus, I care about Max's feelings. She is my daugh--well, anyway, I care about Max. And I know that Max would never forgive me if I let you two die."

Iggy snorted, "So you're setting us free, O Great Jeb, because you're afraid of making Maxy cry?"

Fang nodded, "Yeah, why else are you doing this?"

Jeb looked a little bashful, "Well, truthfully, I would like to see how you two avian-children will blend in with human society. It's an interesting experiment…"

Iggy looked to Fang. "What about Max and the others?" Fang asked with expressionless eyes, "Will we ever see them again?"

Jeb looked away, "I hope so. I truly hope so. And I also wish that when you all meet again, it will be outside these walls."

Iggy twitched, "I think we should go now, I think I heard some footsteps." Fang looked at Ig, "How do you know?"

Iggy waved his hand in front of his face, "Well, I can't see, but I can hear better now…"

Fang nodded, "Cool."

Jeb walked carefully toward the opposite corner of the room and got down on his knees. He ran his fingers along the cold, dusty floor and found a small bump. He pressed his pointer finger against the bump. The space in front of the bump shifted. A small, microwave-sized square opened.

"Hurry, in there. Below this lab is a secret sewer line only a few of the scientist know about. A handful of us put this together to help smuggle out things, for the good of science of course," Jeb shrugged.

"Now hurry in. Follow the flow of the sewer water. You need to walk or fly about four miles down the tunnel. About five paces after four miles look up toward the top. There should be a sewer cover marked with green spot. Climb out through that opening. It should open up to a woods area. Fifty feet south from that spot should be a small cabin. Stay there for a while, I'll come back and help you two as soon as possible."

Jeb dragged Fang and Iggy toward the opening of the floor and pushed them in, "Hurry!"

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**Okay, I hope everyone liked that! Please continue to read and review :) Thank you! More to come! I think in the next chapter, I'll bring in the "2 years later"…You'll see what happens :)**

**KATHY :)**


	9. Chapter 9: Good Intentions

**Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews and favorites! It's nice to see that even the people who were reading from the very start are still reading! I also like seeing that there are new readers! Thank you! :)**

**Hehe, chapter 9 and I think the next few, I actually didn't really plan to have them happen like this, but ideas are always popping into my head so…**

**Anyway, CHAPTER 9! ENJOY!**

**-KATHY :)**

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**DNAvians: Chapter 9: Good Intentions**

The sewer tunnel was damp and dark. There was an eerie silence that even made breathing echo.

Iggy ran his hand against the sewer wall. It was damp and as cold as a dead body…well, how Iggy thought a dead body would feel.

"Hey Fang, have you ever touched a dead body?" Iggy asked, tracing patterns on the wall.

"Yes," Fang said automatically. _Have I? _He asked himself. He felt like he had before, but for some reason he couldn't remember.

Something in his voice showed Iggy that it was the end of the conversation. The silence stretched on. Fang could feel the murky water seeping through his sneakers.

Iggy sighed, shaking his strawberry-blond hair, "Being on the run isn't as much fun as I thought it would be."

Fang raised a dark eyebrow, "You thought it would be fun?" Iggy shrugged his lip pouting a bit, "Well, I didn't think it'd be boring…"

He sighed again, "I wish I had an oven or some bombs to play with. I would love to blow up this whole stinking sewer."

Knowing Iggy wouldn't see, Fang smiled, "So, you wanna fly? It'll faster."

Iggy nodded and unfurled his wings. Fang did the same, letting the midnight black of his feathers add to the darkness of the tunnel.

As they flew effortlessly, Fang once again remembered that he loved flying. Turning, spinning, floating, it felt so free. It even made the sewers seem interesting.

"Hey Ig, would you give up flying for anything?" Fang asked. Iggy shrugged, "Maybe, but right now, flying seems more important to me than anything. I can't see anything around me, but while I'm flying, I feel like I know where I am. What about you? Is there anything more important than flying?"

Fang thought for a bit, _parents? Knowing who exactly I am?_ He shook his head, what good would that do? Then he thought of something more recent that had made him feel safe and at home. Well, more like someone.

Fang shrugged, "I don't know." _Maybe, _Fang thought to himself, _maybe Max._

--

Max struggled against the Eraser that held her back, "Fang!"

She watched helplessly as Fang and Iggy were dragged away to be killed. Her eyes glowed with anger. _How could they do this to them?_

Max wanted to be anything but helpless. She stopped struggling and relaxed. The Eraser's grip loosened in response. Max smirked, opened her wings, and kicked backward in between the Eraser's legs. _Boys, even mutant ones, are still boys._ The Eraser doubled over with pain.

Max took to the air. She scanned the area. Where had they gone? She flew out of the stadium and down the halls, breaking down doors and outmaneuvering Erasers. Where were they?

Max began to feel frustrated. _This is taking to long! If I don't find Fang and Iggy soon…_She shook the thought away.

Fang was her first friend. Iggy was her second. Before them, she only hung out with Jeb. She had friends now, the stupid white coats weren't gonna take them away.

After nearly an hour of searching and escaping Erasers and white coats, she caught sight of Jeb rushing out of a room. His face was clouded with worry. Max landed on the ground and ran to him.

"Jeb!" Max called, "Do you know where they're keeping Fang and Iggy?! We've got to save them!" Jeb shut the door behind him tightly.

He looked at Max with sad eyes, "I'm sorry Max."

Max stamped her foot, "About what?! Jeb come on, if you know where they are you have to tell me! I need to save them!!"

Jeb took Max by the shoulders and looked in her eyes, "I'm so sorry Max, I did everything I could, but just now…they killed both of them."

Max squinted with frustration, "I…I don't understand. Jeb, we need to go save Fang and Iggy now!"

Jeb shook his head, "Fang and Iggy are dead Max, they're gone. I don't think you'll ever see them again."

Max stared and sat down slowly, "…Fang and Iggy?" Jeb nodded. Max shook her head, "No." Jeb patted her shoulder.

Max felt her face get hot and her eyes stung. _NO!_ Max jumped up and unfurled her wings. She needed to fly, but before she could take off, Jeb grabbed her, "Max, stop!"

"Maximum Ride, you need to listen to me. You need to be able to accept this. If you can't, how are you ever going to grow up? Death is death, life is life. That's how it is. Everyone dies; you need to know that, accept that and learn from it. You need experience everything, loss, death. I know it hurts, but it will make you stronger!" Jeb said holding her tightly. _It's for her own good. She can't get too attached to them._

Max held him tight, "It hurts Jeb." He nodded patting her back, "I know sweetheart, I know." _This is the best for her. She'll be the only one some day._

--

Jeb tucked Max into bed when she had stopped crying. He walked out of the room and to the lab marked 'Avian-Human Research'. He entered the password and walked in. He opened a large metal closet and pulled out two file drawers marked 'Avian-Human Hybrid Experiment 2' and 'Avian-Human Hybrid Experiment 3'. He pulled out the white folders contained in each drawer and held them close. _It's the best for all of them._

He took the folders into his office and sent them through the shredder. All the papers withered into scraps leaving only a few legible words. In red: **'Experiment 2' 'Avian-Human' 'Fang' 'found' 'town' 'burn' 'wiped-out' 'dead' 'one survivor' 'pile' 'bodies'** and in blue: **'Experiment 3' 'Iggy' 'kidnapped'**.

Jeb squeezed his eyes shut and prayed he was doing the right thing.

--

Flying, Fang and Iggy quickly reached the sewer opening. Disregarding the ladder, Fang flew up and shoved hard on the cap causing it to shoot upward and expose blinding light.

Fang came up out of the hole and tapped the side of it, "Straight up, Ig." Iggy nodded and flew up.

Fang finally had time to take in the scenery. They were surrounded by thick woods. Tall, green, trees reached up toward the bright, clear, open sky. Sunlight dripped across the wet grass making in sparkle and shine. Birds chirped and sang curiously at the winged-boys.

Fang and Iggy were finally free.

* * *

**Heh, I bet after reading, you all are wondering: what the heck Jeb is thinking? And what the heck happened to Fang when he was little? :) Heh, Fang is so mysterious, but I think that's why we all love him :) I know it's weird that only three words were left from Iggy's document, but we all already know that Iggy was kidnapped, so I wanted to focus on Fang.**

**Okay, this chapter was REALLY short, so I'll post Chapter 10 soon!! :) I'll probably write it today and post it tomorrow or something. **

**Oh, and I start school tomorrow, so after chapter 10, I might be writing slower :(**

**Well, I could just write in class…lol, but I'm taking all honors classes (I'm gonna be in 9****th**** grade) so I think I need to pay attention…**

**But first day it usually just about getting supplies, so I hope I can get Chapter 10 up :) Good luck to anyone else who's also starting school already!**

**-KATHY :)**


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